St. John’s — New York’s largest Catholic university — has gone woke and no longer refers to Monday’s holiday as “Christopher Columbus Day’’ in honor of the explorer hailed as a devout Christian.
Some Italian-American civic leaders and alumni are now ripping the Catholic institution for dissing the famous but controversial Italian explorer.
“To not acknowledge Columbus is insane,” said Angelo Vivolo, president of the Columbus Heritage Coalition. “Of course it’s an insult.”
Former Brooklyn state Assemblyman Peter Abbate, a St. John’s alum who earned a bachelor’s degree in history and political science, agreed.
“It’s outrageous not acknowledging Columbus. It’s just ludicrous,” Abbate said. “They might as well call St. John’s University, John’s University. They get an `F’ for trying to be cute about it.”
The St. John’s academic calendar now describes the holiday as “fall mini-break – university closed. No classes.”
In doing so, it joins New York City government, which threw Columbus under the bus during former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s tenure amid protests that the explorer enslaved and brutalized native populations during his voyages to the New World.
The city Sanitation Department put out a notice this year saying, “There’s no trash, curbside compost or recycling collection on Monday, Oct. 14, Italian Heritage Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day.”
Still, Fordham University, the city’s other major New York Catholic university, says in its calendar that the “university is closed for Columbus Day.”
Iona College, a Catholic school in Westchester County, also recognizes “Columbus Day” in the calendar, although it does not observe the holiday, with “classes in session.”
Vivolo said he has personally complained to St. John’s officials about eliminating “Columbus” from the holiday, adding, “My sister graduated from St. John’s. My granddaughter is a graduate. My niece is a student.”
Vivolo, the former chairman and president of the Columbus Foundation which hosts the city’s annual parade to celebrate the Italian explorer, noted the organization awards scholarships to Italian-American high-school students to attend colleges, and scores of them over the years have enrolled at St. John’s.
St. John’s defended taking Columbus off the calendar.
“After factoring in federal holidays, finite days are available on the academic calendar to observe,” said St. John’s rep Brian Browne.
“In 2018, St. John’s University elected to observe Veterans Day and mark Columbus Day with an extended Fall mini-break at the beginning of October. The Fall mini-break usually coincides with Columbus Day,” Browne said. “St. John’s University community members and alumni regularly participate voluntarily in Columbus Day festivities throughout metropolitan New York City and will do so again this year.”
Such controversy is not new for St. John’s, which changed the name of its sports teams from the Redmen to the Red Storm about 30 years ago after critics said its native American image as a mascot was a slur.
Meanwhile, other Catholic universities have also distanced themselves from Columbus.
Notre Dame University in Indiana does not recognize Columbus Day at all, and its calendar indicates classes are in session.
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Manhattan University and Niagara University in New York and Seton Hall University in New Jersey mention they’re on “fall break” without mentioning Columbus.
St. Francis College in Brooklyn has sought to satisfy both sides of the divide by calling the Oct. 14 holiday “Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day.”
The City University of New York calendar simply says “college closed.”
The calendars for the main campuses of the State University of New York make no mention of “Columbus Day.”
Democratic Queens Councilman Robert Holden slammed the censoring of Columbus.
“We shouldn’t be putting 21st-century standards on 15th-century explorers; that’s what the woke zealots do through presentism,” Holden said.
“Federal and state law designate this Monday as Columbus Day, and the fact that we still have an active executive order from the worst mayor of all time, Bill de Blasio, which Eric Adams continues, is a disgrazia.”
The Sanitation Department said it was following the city edict that banished Columbus from his own holiday.
“Italian Heritage Day/Indigenous People’s Day is the name of the holiday in NYC and has been for several years,” said DSNY spokesman Joshua Goodman.
“The DSNY Columbia Association will be proudly marching in the Columbus Day Parade on Monday. That is the name of the parade, and you can rest assured we will be posting about it on social media,” he said.
